Writhing in agony, Jessica Madden cries for help to make the pain go away - but she’s been told she could be waiting six months.

The 22-year-old, from North Belfast, suffers from a rare genetic disorder which means she has severe learning difficulties and epilepsy.

But she has not slept properly for weeks, and neither have her parents, thanks to a straightforward ailment that would be treated within days for most other people.

Thanks to her condition Jessica, who only weighs around six stone, cannot be treated by a dentist in a normal setting when she gets toothache but must be ‘put under’ with a general anaesthetic to allow medics to see inside her mouth.

However her distraught parents, Pastor Brian Madden and his wife Martine Madden, say they have been told it could be six months before she is seen thanks to difficulties in getting an anaesthetist.

Martine told Belfast Live her daughter “cannot live with this pain for six months, it’s just inhuman”.

Jessica Madden

She added: “If someone without learning difficulties is in severe pain they are supposed to be seen within 48 hours, yet our daughter is being told she’s to wait six months. I’m sorry, but a dog would be seen quicker at the vets.

“She’s crying in pain every day and she doesn’t get to sleep until the early hours of the morning. The last two nights you’re talking about five or six in the morning before we get to sleep and as soon she gets up it starts again and she’s pointing at her mouth trying to explain that she’s in pain.

“But while she waits, it’s not just the pain. She won’t eat properly, I can’t brush her teeth on one side, so the problem is just going to get worse. The danger is she gets an infection and that causes a fit. The people who are dealing with Jessica know the pain she’s in, but it’s like the whole system is grinding to a halt and no one can make what should be a simple thing actually happen.”

Jessica suffers from an extremely rare chromosome disorder called 8p22 duplication which has had a devastating affect on her developmentally. Her parents say visits to the dentist are hugely problematic as Jessica will not open her mouth and gets very agitated. She cannot speak clearly either.

The current situation they find themselves in saw Brian show the dentist at a North Belfast health centre a picture they had taken of the inside of Jessica’s mouth. Brian says the dentist could not believe the size of the hole in her tooth and said she must be in significant pain.

He added: “He couldn’t believe the size of the hole in her tooth and he said it must be causing her some amount of pain. I’ve actually thought of taking Jessica up the Royal and refusing to leave until she gets help. It’s just not right in this day and age that someone, anyone, can be allowed to suffer like this.”

Brian says filming his daughter in such pain is very difficult for him, but he feels driven to do it to highlight her suffering and the lack of help they are getting.

Around a year and a half ago, they say, a similar situation arose and after around two months of constant battling Jessica was treated under general anaesthetic. The treatment resulted in her receiving 12 fillings and getting one tooth removed.

Pastor Brian Madden and his wife Martine Madden

Martine added: “People have said to us to go private, but even assuming we could afford it, what about next time and the time after that. I have argued for years that she needs a six monthly check-up when any problems can be dealt with under general anaesthetic, but instead we face this constant battle which means the problems just get worse.

“We’re going to end up with her losing more teeth. It’s just not right something like a toothache can’t be fixed and Jessica is being made to suffer like this.”

Jessica’s parents believe the Northern Ireland health service is failing their daughter and because she has such an unusual condition no one wants to take responsibility for getting her treatment organised.

They say that after speaking to their dentist about getting Jessica into the Royal Victoria Hospital School of Dentistry where she needs to be treated they were told it could be as long as six months.

Asked about the Madden’s situation, a spokesman for Belfast Trust said they are “very sorry that the service is falling short of expectations”.

They added: “It is a very specialised service which requires an assessment including an anaesthetic assessment, to determine the best course of treatment for each individual patient. For an urgent referral we try to have the patient assessed as soon as possible, and currently the waiting time is 6-8 weeks.

“The waiting time for treatment is dependent on the outcome of the assessment appointment. Should a day procedure be an option the waiting time is between 6 and 14 weeks. However should an inpatient stay be required the waiting time is around 30 weeks.

“We deeply regret that a patient has to wait for access to any of our services and continue to do all at we can to support the family within our existing capacity.”